When did we forget about the journey?

As a child growing up in the nineties in a small, small farming community in the Freestate in the middle of nowhere, dreaming very big dreams was part of everyday life. Having said that, the urgency and desire to leave and become something/someone great, rich and powerful was absolute. This of course pushed me to work hard, focus on grades and sometimes push myself beyond measures just to be able to reach what I thought then was the "end destination". 

My, how the mighty and naive have fallen!  Fast forward past many mistakes and hard lessons to where I am today. A student yet again, who finally knows in her being that there is no end destination to be met, there is only the journey. This leaves me with a clear vision of my future teaching practice: To NOT let the children/learners become so focused on results, that they forget about their journeys, to learn through them and yes, have fun in them! My heart has been full since I started PGCE. This course has surprised me in too many ways to mention here, but one of the more pleasant surprises was to notice how the lecturers and the faculty place emphasis on the experience of learning, not just the outcomes. This is certainly a goal to strive for in my future as an educator as I believe that this will promote the over-all well-being of your learners.

How can we as educators in the present and of the future help learners to achieve this positive learning experience? Foley suggests in Teaching the whole child that we as teachers should do the following:

·         -Be available and accessible to students.

·         -Create an environment of open communication, where student concerns and worries can be heard.

·         -Provide solid education in foundation skills.

·         -Have empathy and understanding for the students’ current circumstance and provide them with the tools with which to facilitate a positive outcome.

·         -Intervene when students experience bullying and harassment.

·         -Promote pro-social bonding (remembering birthdays, family occasions, just be yourself)

These methods can certainly help you to promote the joy of learning, but we should also keep in mind that being mindful teachers and teaching our learners to be mindful may also have a very positive outcome. To be mindful is to be in the moment, to be open to your surroundings and not to judge the experience.  This allows us to be more creative, not judge our shortcomings too harshly, and to find new and exciting ways to improve ourselves. Thus enjoying the journey, and not focusing on the destination. I can just imagine how this would have a positive influence on our learners, as Ernest Hemingway says, it is the journey that matters in the end.